Lung Cancer and Surgery

Lung cancers can benefit of three or four types of treatment. Besides chemotherapy, palliative methods and radiation therapy, lung cancer can be treated by surgery in some cases. These cases only include the non-small cell lung cancer. The small cell lung cancer is not operable as by the time this type of cancer is diagnosed the disease is considered to have already spread to other body parts for sure. In this case only chemotherapy and radiotherapy are of help.

Surgery can be done to the patients that have early staged lung cancers (beginning with stage I and ending with stage IIIA). It can happen that after surgery chemotherapy is added to the treatment as a measure of safety. Also, before rushing into surgery the doctors will do some evaluation to the patient to see if he can support the surgery, if the remaining lung will be able to support life and if the cancer can be removed entirely.

Lung cancer surgery can consist of thoracotomy. This type of surgery consists of an incision made in the thorax and the removal or a certain lung part that contains the tumor and a surrounding part of healthy tissue. It is important to cut a little bit of the healthy tissue that surrounds the tumor so that no malignant cells remain in the lung. If only one malignant cell is forgotten in the lung then the cancer might develop once again. This is called a segmentectomy.

Sometimes when the cancer is in a more advanced stage a whole pulmonary lobe will have to be removed. Do not worry if one lobe is removed as the lungs have 5 lobes in their structure. Their well functioning will not be drastically affected if one lobe is removed in surgery.

In the most severe cases of operable lung cancers an entire lung can be removed. This is a surgery that can endanger life as it seriously affects the function of the pulmonary system.

After surgery a chest tube will be left outside to help the lungs refill with air and drain the blood and any other fluids that might collect after surgery is done.

Statistics say that in patients having stage I lung cancer the 5 year survival rate increases up to 70% if chemotherapy is followed after the surgery. In stage II this rate is about 50% and in stage III it is only 20-30%.

Even though statistics are promising only for stage I and even stage II, hope is still standing as new treatment methods are constantly being researched and this rate will increase in time offering new expectations to lung cancer patients.